Medication and healthcare supplements in the form of capsules, tablets or pills is typically contained in elongated, cylindrical medicine containers fitted with a removable cap. A label may be provided on the exterior of the medicine container to indicate the type of medication as well as the indications or dosage of the medication in the container. In some cases, multiple types of medication may be prescribed to a patient at a given time, in which case it is necessary for the patient to keep track of which medications have and have not been taken over the course of each day. This task can be difficult, particularly under circumstances in which the patient must take some medications once or twice and other medications three or more times daily.
Patients' failure to take prescription medications according to the correct schedules or dosages is a significant challenge in treating illnesses. The average length of stay in hospitals due to medication noncompliance is 4.2 days. Twenty-three percent of nursing home admissions is due to patients' failure to take prescription medications accurately. Missed or improperly-taken medications cause an estimated 125,000 deaths each year.
Therefore, a medicine container carrier which is suitable for the organization, storage and transport of medicine containers according to type of medication, dosage, scheduling and/or other parameters is needed to enhance a patient's ability to prepare and take oral medications reliably and safely, increasing medication compliance.